How Long Has This Been Going On?

Posted on Mon Aug 24th, 2020 @ 9:55am by Ensign Nhallia Newmark

366 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Storm
Location: Newmark Family Quarters
Timeline: A few days after Baby's Day Out

ON:

Nhallia started awake as Aurea shifted in her sleep, automatically reaching up to steady the little warm bundle on her shoulder. She had been rocking the baby to sleep and had rocked herself to sleep at the same time.

She smiled as she stood and gently laid the baby in her crib, dropping a soft kiss on her cheek. “Good night, my Little Love,” she murmured, and started for the master bedroom.

It was late, she realized. She must have done more than just dozed off a little and she moved quietly so she didn’t wake Baba… But as she stepped into the bedroom she paused. The bed was empty. She frowned a little. “Baba?” she called out quietly as she went back into the main room, to wake him from the couch, but he wasn’t there either.

“Computer, where is Doctor Newmark?” she asked.

“DOCTOR NEWMARK IS IN MAIN SICKBAY,” the computer informed her.

She frowned a little more. He had been called to sickbay in the middle of the night before; he went in at night frequently.

He didn’t leave home in the middle of the night without telling her he was going.

At least he never had before.

Moving slowly, Nhallia went back to the bedroom and stripped out of the comfortable housecoat she had been wearing to feed and put Aurea to bed, then slid between the sheets.

She lay awake for a long time before she heard the front door open. She didn’t get up, simply laid quietly and listened as Verdeth stopped into the nursery before coming to the bedroom. He silently changed and crawled into his side of the bed, then turned away from her and went to sleep.

He didn’t roll over to cuddle up against her. He didn’t lean over to kiss her. He didn’t even reach out in his sleep to rest a hand on her, his fingers moving unconsciously over her skin.

Nhallia lay awake for a lot longer listening to him breathe, slow and deep… and way over on the other edge of the bed… before she managed to fall into a restless sleep herself.

OFF:

 

RSS Feed